South Korean airlines have reportedly put on hold their plans to resume flights to China, Japan and Southeast Asia, amid the global spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant of the novel coronavirus.

Local carriers had been seeking to resume international flights as the government is pursuing to sign travel bubble agreements with countries that have low COVID-19 cases.

South Korean airlines asked the Transport Ministry to permit their flights for Southeast Asian routes, but the local industry is predicting the flights are unlikely even if the ministry grants the permit.

However, flights for Guam and Saipan with lower cases of COVID-19 variants will resume from next month.

Asiana Airlines and T'way Air will reportedly resume flights to Saipan from July 24 and 29, respectively, with a once-a-week service.